In light of ‘The Academy Award’ incident that has been all over the news and social media, we should be reminded of this beautiful and timely quote from Scripture:
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peace | Deacon Allen Tatara Catholic Speaker - Part 2
On the Inside; On the Outside
The Epiphany of the Lord has always been a big deal in my household. This Christian feast is traditionally observed on January 6th – which also is my date of birth. Needless to say, I was not particularly thrilled when the church decided to move the observance of Epiphany to the first Sunday of January. Despite that move, I continue to celebrate the traditional Epiphany day on January 6th every year.
‘Twas the rush before Christmas, when all through the house,
I was stirring like crazy trying to wrap my wife’s blouse.
The stockings were crooked, the house was disjointed,
If Santa were to come, he’d be very disappointed.
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Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you.
All things pass away, God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
He who has God lacks nothing.
God alone suffices.
I found these words in a Catholic magazine that I was reading while on retreat. I have seen these words before, but at this particular moment in time, something was different.
Too often in my life, I have let those petty little things “get to me.” So much so, that it manifests within me and changes my physical being. For example, I often won’t be able to sleep at night or I experience severe internal stomach issues. Many times, as much as I hate to admit it, my moods seem to frequently shift throughout the day. Thankfully, I’m not experiencing any of these symptoms while on my retreat, but the above words immediately took me back to all of those times when I have lived these symptoms. And now, as I reflect on these words, I realize the absurdity of my actions and behavior.
Why do I allow these things that are out of my control to ultimately take control of me? Why should I get disturbed over situations that arise that, when you really think about it, just come and go? And the patience thing? Oh my, this is a huge one for me. Every morning I pray for patience to get me through the day. (When they were passing out patience at the beginning of my life, I must not have been paying attention – or I was distracted by a shiny, fancy guitar.) But for whatever reason, these words really touched my heart today.
With all the things that are happening in our lives such as work, home, family, etc. and the various tasks and responsibilities hitting us from all angles, isn’t it comforting to know that God never changes? It is an incredible feeling to be reassured that when we have God in our lives and have a personal, active relationship with him, that we have all that we need. We lack nothing because God alone suffices. If we change our mindset to think this way, we will be filled with an amazing sense of peace which nothing else in this world can provide.
Read these words at the start of each day and you will realize that God is right there with us giving us all that we need – and that’s all that really matters!
“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.”
In that one, single sentence, Jesus sums up what it really means to be a Christian. There is so much depth in that sentence that we need to unpack it phrase-by-phrase to fully understand its meaning in our lives. Let’s look at the first point, one “must deny himself.” Read More
For the fruits of his creation,
Thanks be to God;
For the gifts to every nation,
Thanks be to God;
For the ploughing, sowing, reaping,
Silent growth while men are sleeping,
Future needs in earth’s safekeeping,
Thanks be to God.
In the just rewards of labor,
God’s will is done;
In the help we give our neighbor,
God’s will is done;
In our world-wide task of caring,
For the hungry and despairing,
In the harvests men are sharing,
God’s will is done.
For the harvests of his spirit,
Thanks be to God;
For the good all men inherit,
Thanks be to God;
For the wonders that astound us,
For the truths that still confound us,
Most of all, that love has found us,
Thanks be to God.
~Text by F. Pratt Green
These are the words to a hymn that opened up my Evening Prayer last night. As I read this words, I was deeply moved by its simplicity, yet poignant message.
With all that is going on in our world right now, it is so easy to simply forget to give praise to our Father in heaven. Between all of the hate and violence that surround us, the lack of love and support for our neighbor, and for the inability to respect the sanctity and beauty of human life, we need to pray this prayer more than ever. And not only that, but to simply know and believe that we are loved by our God.
My words today are short and sweet. I pray that all of us are able to find true peace in our loving Father. May we have the strength to praise our God no matter what we are experiencing in our days. May we be able to find the ability to take time in our busy schedules to pray, to find it in our hearts the ability to give honor and glory to our Creator and Savior. Let us find in our hearts the beauty that lies within, and the peace that can only be found in our Lord, Jesus Christ.
May the spirit of the living God be with you always. And always remember that you are loved. Amen.
Where is the one who brought up out of the sea, the shepherd of his flock? Where is the one who placed in their midst his holy spirit, who guided Moses by the hand, with his glorious arm?
Where is the one who divided the waters before them— winning for himself an everlasting renown— who guided them through the depths, like horses in open country?
As cattle going down into the valley, they did not stumble. The spirit of the Lord guided them. Thus, you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name. ~Isaiah 63: 11b-14
Since the very beginning of this pandemic, there has been one phrase that we continue to hear: “We are all in this together.” It reminds us that you are I are not the only ones facing the challenges and struggles of COVID-19. Like it or not, we are all in the same boat.
As part of my day-job, I get to speak with people from across the globe every single day. This past week, I spoke with individuals from Japan, China, Sweden, Mexico and the United Kingdom. Every call begins with the topic of self-isolation, how we are surviving in this current environment, and if our families are safe. I see on a daily basis how we really are ‘all in this together.’ This is truly a global experience.
I have been thinking about this and how we can make a direct connection with our own Catholic faith. Catholic means universal. The Mass and the other sacraments are celebrated exactly the same throughout the world, bringing all Catholics together in a spirit of unity.
When I have attended Mass in other countries; even though I may not have fully understood the languages, I was fully aware of what was taking place. No matter where we may be, our Catholic faith is universal, centered around Jesus Christ and our belief in Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist.
But being Catholic is also about having an ongoing personal encounter with Christ so that we may be a witness of God’s love in the world. This means that we are called to live like Jesus and to work for peace and justice for one another by living out the Gospel.
We are part of this universal Church together, believing that God is not only present in the Eucharist, but is also present within us. This means that whatever we are going through, whatever comes our way, whatever obstacles we encounter, we are never left alone. God is always with us. Now I’ll admit, it’s not always easy to recognize Jesus when our eyes are cast down, when life is difficult, or when we find ourselves in our own personal pit of despair. But that is when we must fall back on our faith, trusting and believing that Jesus is the only one who can lift us out of our pit. We just need to be able to lift up our eyes and our hearts to see that Jesus is right there and to feel his presence.
My sisters and brothers, as Catholic-Christians “we are all in this together.” We always have been, and we always will be. May the spirit of the Lord guide us always and let us remember that Jesus is with us; Jesus is here – and we are never left alone.
A veil is an article of clothing that is intended to cover some part of the head or face. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies and is prominent in many forms of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Veiling continues to play a role today especially in wedding customs where it’s used to hide the face of the bride so that the groom would not see her face until after the ceremony. Then the new groom would lift the veil hiding the bride’s face and kiss her.
Sometimes it feels like you and I are walking around with veils covering our faces. We go through the motions of life not clearly seeing due to the many temptations of our modern culture like power, wealth, success, adulation, etc. – everything in relation to “me.” When we wear this veil, we become disoriented, disillusioned and lost, and we cannot see where we are heading.
St. Paul tells us that a veil lies over our hearts, but when we turn to the Lord, that veil is removed. It reminds me of that beautiful image we often see of St. Anthony of Padua holding the infant Jesus in his arms. When our veils are removed, we can experience the power of Jesus in our lives. When we gaze upon the face of Christ, we will find joy, happiness, comfort, peace, love, and the true light that shines out of darkness.
It’s time to remove the veil that hides us from seeing Jesus. Let us put aside the darkness that the world draws us into and allow the joy that comes from living with Christ permeate our lives for all to see. Let the unveiling begin!
My father passed away in 2014, and there are still so many days when I miss him dearly. About a year ago, I was at a busy shopping mall when I noticed a man from a distance that looked exactly like my dad. I couldn’t believe my eyes, and since this man was far away, I needed to get closer to see if it was really him.
As I made my way through the crowd, my heart began beating rapidly. I began sweating and my mind was racing with fear and questions. As I approached, he turned around, made eye contact with me and then vanished into the crowd. It wasn’t him, but the similarities shook me to my core.
As I walked away, I felt deeply troubled, and I wondered what would I have said or done if it was indeed my father.
Today, we hear how the disciples thought that they saw a ghost because Jesus had died, and now he was standing right in front of them again – very much alive. (Luke 24:35-48) They had so many questions on their minds. Their hearts were filled with uncertainties and they began doubting themselves, their faith, and their mission. Jesus appeared and gave them peace, reassuring them that everything was going to be just fine.
Our lives are filled with so many questions, problems, and struggles. We get scared and often find ourselves lost. It is during these times when we need to remember that Jesus is right here with us. All we have to do is reach out to him in prayer and he will show us the way.
Jesus is offering us his peace. If we accept this peace, Jesus will open our minds to His word; and that Word will guide us and give us the courage to overcome whatever darkness comes our way. May God’s peace lead us to the brightness of each new day.
For those who have not noticed, I am now wearing eyeglasses all the time. This was a Christmas gift from my eye doctor – although, it wasn’t much of a gift because I had to pay for them. I’ve worn glasses for reading and computer work for years, but a change was needed in order for me to see more clearly all the time. And that is precisely the message for us in today’s gospel (Mark 9:41-50).
The text we heard this morning is extremely powerful, as long as it’s not taken out of context. The danger of this gospel is when people take the words literally and start cutting things off and plucking things out. But Jesus isn’t instructing us to hurt ourselves. After all, the body is sacred because we were made in God’s image. But the true meaning of the gospel goes much deeper than the physical – it goes directly to the eyes of our hearts.
If we can put on our spiritual glasses, we would be able to see how each of us needs to change. We would clearly see how we sometimes neglect to treat others as sisters and brothers of Christ. We would clearly see how we sometimes focus on our own needs and wants instead of the needs and wants of others. We would clearly see how we sometimes abuse others by our actions and language, or how we manipulate others so that we have power over them. Sometimes, we lose sight of who we are because we become blinded by a society who tells us who we ‘should’ be. If we could clearly see and believe that deep down, we are all good – but sometimes, we just make bad choices.
Today is our wake-up call. Let us begin this day with a new set of eyes. Let us clearly see that we need to change, to become better people, better listeners, better friends, better neighbors, and better disciples. Let us not make a “spectacle” of ourselves by focusing on us, but truly see life through the “lens” of God so we know how we are called to live. If we want to find true peace in this life, we need to put our hope in the Lord. Only then will we be able to clearly see.
